Page 40 of Covert (Ruthless Love #2)

Chapter thirty-seven

Axel

B eckett, Maddox, and I spend hours the next morning drafting ideas.

She said she wanted it over her sternum.

We tried to convince her to do it somewhere else.

The skin over the bone of your sternum is very sensitive and thin, but she insisted, wanting it close to her heart.

So, we made three variations that would look good between her breasts.

The one she chose was my favorite. It's a dotted line down the center with a geometric sun with flares that will just caress her breasts, watercolor sun flares, and stars that mimic Diesel's MC patch.

We drive to the shop an hour before we open, lay her flat on one of the benches, and set up. She pulls off her shirt and bra, and each of us groans.

"Boys," she warns. "We're here for work, not play," she chastises. "You're going to have to go easy on the girls, too, while this heals."

Beckett is first, and Nikki closes her eyes as he begins. She winces slightly at the first bite of the needle, but we watch in partial horror as she falls asleep. We exchange worried looks, but finish the tattoo in silence, swapping out as our parts are needed.

When we finally kick the machine off, she stirs, waking a little and yawning. She slept with me again last night, finally abandoning the couch, so I know she's not tired. But she blinks rapidly as her eyes open and looks at each of us.

"What?"

It's an understanding in the tattoo world that people who become addicted to the pain of tattoos can use them as a coping mechanism for trauma.

Those who fall asleep to the pain? Have probably experienced a much worse pain and know that they're safe enough to fall asleep. The pain is therapeutic to them.

Maddox is the first to lose his patience. "Alright, what the fuck, Princess?"

"Why are you angry at me?" She sits up defensively. Beckett lays a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"The people you're running from...did they hurt you? Who was it? Do we know them?"

Her eyes widen, but she looks at each of us, gauging what we want in response.

She lowers her eyes to her hands in her lap.

"Yes, they hurt me. But that's not the reason I ran.

I ran because they were going to sell me, okay?

Can you just leave it at that? I'm safe here, right?

" she says, looking at each of us for confirmation.

I can tell Maddox wants to press her on it, force her to tell us more, but she's just gotten comfortable with the idea of staying with us, so I stand and get Sanoderm.

"Yes, of course we'll leave it alone," I say, narrowing my eyes at Maddox.

It gives us a little more to go on, and it explains her reaction to the auction site.

I wince at the thought of finding Nikki on one of those sites.

I may not have been able to save Natalie, but there is nothing I won't do to save Nikki.